Run the work · 05

Connect sessions into a workflow

A business workflow is more than one meeting. In Nova you connect sessions so that results and dates flow from one to the next, and you set steps to unlock in order so each person knows when it is their turn.

How do sessions pass work to each other?

On the project board, you connect one session card to another. A connection can do two things:

  • Send session conclusions: the conclusions of the first session appear in the next one, under Previous conclusions and decisions.
  • Date dependency: the next session starts a set number of days or hours after (or before) the first one.

If you choose neither option, the connection is visual only.

A connected workflow on the project board. Each session receives the conclusions of the one before it. When the first date moves, the later dates move with it.

What happens when a date changes?

When sessions have a date dependency, Nova moves the later sessions with the earlier one. Change the start date of the first session, and the rest of the workflow shifts to match.

Can tasks follow a session's dates?

Yes. In a task, use Date automation. Choose Match session dates, Starts when session starts or Ends when session ends. When the session moves, the task moves too.

How do I make steps happen in order?

Steps inside a session can wait for each other:

  • Hand-offs. In a step's assignees, turn on Notify assigned when previous step is complete. The owner gets an email when the step before theirs is done.
  • Dependencies. Use Add dependencies to unlock a step only after certain answers are chosen in an earlier multiple-choice step. Turn on Require all depending options to be selected if every option must be chosen.
A hand-off. When step 1 is done, the owner of step 2 gets an "It's your turn" email.

Who gets told when a step changes?

Each step has its own email rules. Open Step Preferences and go to the Notifications tab. Build a sentence such as:

Send email notification to Session leaders when the step is completed by anybody.

You can send to Nobody, Only collaborators, Session leaders or Everybody in this session. You can send when the step is completed by anybody, when it is closed for all, or when somebody adds a note to it.

How do I repeat a session on a schedule?

Use recurring sessions for weekly team meetings, monthly reviews and other routines. This needs Nova Pro.

  1. Open the session and choose Make recurring.
  2. Set Repeat every a number of days, weeks, months or years. Choose the weekdays or the day of the month.
  3. Set when it Ends: Never, on a date, or after a number of occurrences.

The current session becomes the template for future sessions. The project's Rituals tab lists all of its recurring sessions. From there you can Edit recurrence or Stop recurrence.

Can AI coworkers wait for earlier work?

Yes. When you assign Nova AI, choose When previous sessions done. Nova AI then starts after the sessions before it are complete. See AI coworkers.

Tip: save the workflow

When a connected workflow runs well, save the project as a multi-session process. Your next project then starts from the same sessions and steps. See Save and share your own processes.

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